Finding Home
by LokiDeku4
Summary: (Re-Upload) AU after season three, After killing his brother Daryl leaves the prison for awhile until he finds out he misses the group and decides to return, how will the others welcome him back? Especially Beth. BETHYL
1. Chapter 1

Daryl was running through the woods with his trademark crossbow in his hands. He was on the hunt for something he thought was long gone, a deer.

He came to a stop and studied the ground, making sure he was still on the right track. He turn to his left slightly and dashed off at pace.

' _come on, I need this_ ' he thought as he made his way down a small hill and came to a small clearing surrounding by trees. From the edge of the clearing he could see two walkers eating the very thing he had been tracking.

"son of a bitch" he said, the walkers didn't hear him however seeing them eat the thing that he wanted to catch and eventually eat himself angered him. All he wanted was a little break but he should be used to the cruel world he lives in now.

He let is anger get the better of him and he approached the two walkers. When he got within a few feet he fired an arrow through one of their skulls, killing it instantly. The other one didn't seem to notice or care it just kept on with its meal.

Daryl then took out his knife and walked behind the walker still eating and plunged his knife into the walkers head. He pulled his knife from the now motionless walker and put it away.

He walked over to the half eaten deer and sigh ' _such a waste_ ' he thought then went over to the other walker he killed, he pulled the arrow out and wiped it on his trousers.

This was not turning out to be his day. All he had managed to hunt today was two squirrels. Looking down he decided it was time to call it a day but not before stepping on one of the walkers head as he left.

/

It was dark by the time Daryl got back to the cabin he was staying in. The cabin was in the woods but was a small thing, it was one room with only a bed, a chair and a fire place inside it but it had been the best Daryl could do based on the circumstances.

It had been five months since he had killed his zombified brother which was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. Killing the one and only constant family you loved nearly killed him inside.

Shortly after he had decided to leave the prison. It wasn't meant to be for this long. It was only meant to be for a few weeks while he sorted his head out but if he was honest he was glad to be back to the lone wolf lifestyle, only killing and cooking for himself, doing what he wanted too without having to worry about others but that didn't mean that he wasn't missing them.

After he skinned, cooked and ate the squirrels he caught he sat down on his bed and found himself once again thinking about the group back at the prison. He missed them all in a small way, hell he even missed Lil ass kickers crying. In fact she was the one he missed the most even though she wasn't even that old he had bonded with the small girl.

He ran a hand through his hair as he kicked off his boots and sighed "I wonder how they're doing" he muttered to himself. He found himself thinking about the group more and more each day.

He lay down on the bed and couldn't get the damn place out of his head. He rolled around trying to escape his mind but it wasn't working. He stared at the wooded roof of his cabin and decided that maybe his mind was trying to tell him something and right there and then he decided that he needed to go back.

/

Inside the prison walls a babies cry echoed through the empty halls. Beth who was on baby duty that night groaned as she sleepily swung her legs over the edge of her bed and got up. Judith now around six months old and had been updated from the box with Lil ass kicker written on it to a crib that Rick and Michonne had found on a run.

Beth stood up and crossed the room over to the crib and picked up the baby, resting her in her arms and started to gently rock her back and forth. Judith had stopped crying when she felt herself being lifted from the cot and was now trying to grab Beth's blonde hair.

"Seeing as your not sleepy you must be hungry" Beth sighed as she started making her way toward the kitchen where they kept all food and drink.

Making her way out of her cell and down the stairs she could feel the cold floor against her bare feet which made her shiver a little. The prison at night was creepy enough but making your way through the dark halls while holding a baby put Beth more on edge for some reason. She entered the common area where everyone gathered to have meals or meetings, as she entered she could see a figure sitting at a table.

"Hello?" Beth asked a little nervously

The figure jumped up and turned around to see the source of the voice "oh Beth its only you" came a soft voice which Beth recognised immediately

Beth let out a breath "Carol, what are you doing up?" she asked curiously as she walked over to the other women

"I couldn't sleep" Carol answered honestly. She then looked at Judith "want me to take her while you make her a bottle?" she asked

"yes please, thank you" Beth replied passing the baby to carol, then made her way to the kitchen area of the prison. She made the bottle and was waiting for it to cool down. As she waited she looked around the room, what they had wasn't much, only at most ten cans of food so she guessed they would be going on a run again soon.

Her eyes then came across a box filled with pots and pans on the floor that had Lil ass kicker on the side of it and immediately she thought of the man who had left them, Daryl. Since he had been gone she didn't feel the group was as strong and sometimes she didn't feel as safe as she did when he was there and she didn't fully understand why but she did miss him.

She walked back into the common room to see Carol now rocking Judith. She walked over to take Judith back but Carol politely insisted that she wanted to feed her so Beth could go get some more sleep but instead Beth sat down at the table while Carol fed the baby her bottle.

"Hey Carol, do you ever think about Daryl?" Beth asked. In truth she wanted to talk to someone about Daryl and she felt Carol was the best person to speak to seeing as she was the closest to Daryl.

Carol nodded "at least once a day, not much else to think about these days" she stated not taking her eyes away from the baby in her arms.

Beth was trying to think of the right question to ask now. She had a few in mind but she didn't want to come across too nosey. She bit her lip before muttering "do you think he is ok?" in the end she decided not to ask anything personal yet.

An amusing smile came across Carol's face "I may not know everything about Daryl Dixon but I am certain that if anyone can survive out there, its him" she answered honestly. She truly believed that Daryl was fine out there.

"Do you think he will ever come back?" Beth asked.

"I honestly cant answer that but I do hope he comes back soon" Carol answered this time she looked at Beth and smiled "been thinking about Daryl yourself have you?" Carol asked with a teasing smile.

Beth's gaze immediately fell to the floor as she could feel her cheeks going red "not a lot, but I was just curious because you two were so close" she lied the truth was she had been thinking about the red-neck hunter often but wasn't sure why.

Carol nodded and looked back towards Judith "we are close but its like when he left with his brother Merle, that was something he had to do and so is this" she looked at Beth and knew Beth had lied slightly. Over the last few weeks Beth had been distracted and now she was pretty sure that Carol now knew why, not that she was going to tell anyone.

"yeah, I know Daryl wouldn't leave for no good reason" Beth said while letting out a yawn "I just wish he was here"

"I know me too, now come on you get to bed, I will put Judith down for you" Carol said kindly but also in an added tone so Beth couldn't refuse.

Beth smiled at Carol, then got up and walked out of the room but not before saying and thank you to Carol.

When Beth left the room Carol looked down at Judith "I think someone has a little crush" she said in a baby voice that made Judith smile.

/

Like every morning Daryl was up before sun rise. The benefit of being up so early was that he had all day to do what ever needed to be done. He was still going to go back to the prison today but he was also close to a local small town that he had barley checked out so he had decided to do that before returning to the prison.

As he entered the town he noticed that there was little walkers around which normally meant that they either got caught in a herd and went with them or someone else had already been here. As he continued he came across a small shop that looked to be in good state.

He pulled up in one of the parking spots available, got off his bike and started to investigate. First he tapped the stores window with the edge of his arrow that was loaded in his crossbow and waited. After a few minutes with no response he presumed it was safe so entered the shop but still had his crossbow ready just in case.

The shop was in fact nearly empty "damn, guess someone else cleared this place out" he said to himself but still continued to look around in case something was missed. The shop ended up having nothing in it that was necessary.

He was about to leave the store when he heard tyres screech. Instinctively he ducked down out of site, then poked his head over his cover to see the situation.

An SUV had pulled up near the building next to the shop Daryl was in. Two men exited the SUV "are you sure they came this way?" the first one asked, he was a tall and well build man with short black hair. He held a machine gun in his hands.

The other man shrugged, he was smaller than the other man but still looked strong "according to one of our scouts the couple were hunting for should be around here" the second man said, he only had a handgun in his hand.

Daryl watched the scene with confusion 'why are they hunting a couple?' he thought to himself but by the look of them he knew that he should just let things play out and not draw attention to himself. It was a good thing that none of them took a second glance at his bike.

The two men started to look around the streets, they seemed to be hesitant to go too far from their SUV. For ten minutes they looked behind walls, checked ally ways before the first man gave out a yell of joy "I GOT ONE" he shouted as he made his way back to the SUV while dragging a women by her hair. He threw her to the ground by the SUV as the second man came over. Both men had an evil smile on their face, this was not going to be good.

The women was covered in cuts and bruises and was dirty, it was obvious that she had been running and hiding for awhile. She was now crying and screaming "why are you doing this?" she was truly scared for her life.

The two men didn't seem sympathetic at all in fact it looked like they were enjoying her fear. "you have given us real trouble you know, now tell us where is the other girl you were with" the tall man stated

The girl didn't reply she was still crying and cowering in a ball on the floor. Daryl's hands tightened around his crossbow, he was angry. He couldn't tolerate any violence to women but he knew if he got involved now he would surely be killed so he grit his teeth and watched the horrible scene.

The second man got tired of waiting and grabbed the girls hair dragging her up to their level "tell us now you bitch otherwise you know what will happen" he smirked as he finished his sentence and the girls eyes instantly showed more horror and fear, which Daryl thought that wasn't possible.

"I...i don't know where sh... she is" the girl stuttered, her thought felt numb from all the screaming and running from previous days.

"Too bad" the second man said then he put his gun to her head and pulled the trigger. The girls body fell to the floor and neither men seemed fazed "so were still on the hunt for one more" the tall man said as he cut off a lock of the girls hair.

"Indeed, she seemed to be telling the truth as well so lets head out of this area" the second man said getting into the passengers side of the SUV, the tall man pocketed the hair he cut off and got inside the drivers seat and drove off.

Daryl got up when he knew the SUV was gone. He went over to the body to make sure she wouldn't come back as a walker. Looking down at the girl he could still see the fear in her eyes. He knelt down and closed her eyes.

He decided that he needed to get out of here as soon as possible. From what he could work out these bastards were taking people and setting them free only to hunt them for sport. He got back to his bike and sped off away from the small town with only one thing going through his mind. How was he able to get in without being seen?.

 **I in NO way, shape or form own the walking dead.**

 **As I said in the summary this is a Re-upload. I would love to hear feedback as to whether or not this is worth continuing.**


	2. Chapter 2

The prison group were sat in the common room ready for a meeting to discuss their current low food supply. Rick stood on the table in the centre of the room ready to address everyone. Carol was sat with Tyreese and Sasha, Beth was sat with Hershel, Maggie, Glenn and Carl with Judith in Carl's arms feeding her and Michonne was stood against a wall on the edge of the room. Even though Michonne felt comfortable around these people she still didn't like to show it.

"Ok guys after the food we ate this morning we have next to nothing left. I should have been keeping better track and for that I'm sorry but we need to do a run today" Rick said getting everyone's attention.

"How much do we have left?" asked Hershel curiously.

"Only two cans" Rick answered in a low voice looking down. He really couldn't believe he hadn't been on top off this "I'm going on the run and based on what we need I will need another three people to come with me" he said and waited to see who would volunteer. It was times like this he wished Daryl was here, it would make runs a lot easier having him around.

Tyreese was the first to answer "I'll go, I haven't gone in awhile and I don't want to get rusty" he smirked

Rick responded with a smile of his own then Michonne spoke up "I'm in" she said in an even voice to which Rick simply nodded. He looked around the room and was shocked to see someone's hand in the air, it was Beth.

"I want to go too" Beth said trying to sound determined. After her conversation with Carol last night she had decided she wanted to do more for the group and she hoped it would give her a distraction from all the thinking she was doing lately. The group (except Michonne) looked shocked at the small blonde.

"Um Beth I'm not sure if that's such a good idea" Rick answered. Beth was a little disappointed with his answer but she was determined to go.

"But I really think it would do me good to get out of here for once, I will listen to your every word out there and Judith will start teething pretty soon so I can carry her stuff while the rest of you carry the food" she stated. Rick had to admit that she was putting up a good argument.

He sighed, there was no doubting that she really wanted to do this but there was also slight fear in her eyes "normally I would decide on this but seeing as your Hershel's youngest daughter, I will leave it to him to decide" he said now looking at the old man.

Beth's eyes shifted to her father who was looking at her with an expression that gave off many emotions but the most visible one was worry "Bethy this isn't something like a game, its life or death out there" he said in a calm voice.

"I know daddy but I really feel like I got to do this" she answered him looking dead in his eyes. When she wanted to be Beth can be really determined.

Hershel sighed and looked down "you do everything they tell you too, you hear me?" he answered and was immediately greeted with a hug by his youngest daughter "thank you daddy" she whispered in his ear then pulled away to listen to the rest of the plan.

"NO, she isn't going" this time it was the other Greene sister speaking out. Everyone looked at Maggie to see that she was very angry by what had just transpired. Glenn was holding her hand in an attempt to calm her down. "your not going Beth, its too dangerous" she said again now looking at her sister.

Beth was at a loss for words for the first time that morning, she honestly thought her biggest challenge would be getting her daddy to allow her to go. However it turned out she had someone else on her side as Michonne walked over to the table everyone was staring at and put a hand on Beth's shoulder and looked at Maggie "I will protect her" she stated. This took some people by surprised but Michonne was always one to protect and help someone.

Maggie thought to herself for a minute, she couldn't go with them because she had guard duty with Glenn today and they were non-negotiable. But she had to admit having Michonne look after her little sister did put her mind at ease a little, Michonne was probably the best walker killer they had but that still didn't fully put her mind at ease and it showed on her face.

She felt a hand on her knee to see that it was Hershel "I know how you feel Maggie but we got to accept Bethy is 18 now and she has the right to make up her own mind and with Michonne saying she will look out for her, I feel a lot better about it" he told his daughter hoping to ease her mind fully even if he wasn't fully at ease himself.

Maggie sighed in defeat and looked up at Michonne "please bring her back safe" it sounded almost as a plea. Beth knew how to shoot a gun but she wasn't a good shot nor was she a fighter so she knew she would need help out there and she was thankful Michonne offered "you have my word" Michonne replied walking back to her spot by the wall.

Now it was sorted which four people were going on the run, the others went off and did what ever needed doing. Maggie and Glenn went off on guard duty, Carol and Carl took Judith outside for some fresh air and Hershel was going out to work on a garden he had started which Sasha had offered to help with. Even though it would be awhile before anything grew they worked on it everyday.

Rick, Tyreese, Michonne and Beth was now sat around a table as Rick was explaining the plan. "The last place we went too still has food in there that would keep us going for at least 2 weeks, so I say we go there first" Rick informed the others who nodded accepting the information they were being told. Seeing they accepted it he moved on.

"Now Beth what will we need for Judith?" he felt weird asking someone else what is needed for his child but no one could deny that Beth had looked after her more than anyone but he was slowly forming a bond with his daughter.

"Well as usual we need more baby formula but seeing as she will be teething very soon we need possibly some toys that she can chew on and some gel that you can rub on the babies gums to help ease the pain" Beth said as she went through the imaginary list in her head.

"Is there any place around here that will have something like that?" asked Tyreese

"yeah, just opposite the place where we got the food from I'm sure that there's a baby store that should have everything we need" Rick replied, he looked around at the others to see if there was any more questions but everyone looked like they were ready to go "ok lets meet outside by the trucks in couples of minutes" Rick said as he left to go find Carl and Judith.

/

Daryl had been driving for awhile, occasionally checking behind him in case someone saw him leave that town and decided to follow him but so far nothing.

His hands tightened on his handles. He was angry, probably the angriest he had been for awhile. He was even considering going back and try to take them out himself but he knew that was suicide.

As he drove a little more he started thinking about the place he was headed for, the prison. It had been months since he last seen anyone from there and truth be told he was wondering what everyone would think of him for leaving. Just then a thought crossed his mind, what if they weren't there any more.

He kept thinking of things that would keep them in the prison but how did he know if anything had happened. He then stumbled upon his biggest worry, what if the Governor had returned with a bigger, stronger army. The thought of everyone dead truly did terrify him, the people in the prison was his family.

As he thought a little more on the subject he was starting to regret leaving for so long. He couldn't stop this train of thought no matter how hard he tried, he only hoped that everyone was still at the prison and that they were safe.

 **Not much happening in this chapter I know but this is just setting up for a big one next time I promise.**

 **A massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed and favourited. You have no idea how much it means to me and keeps me going.**

 **I** **in NO way, shape or form own the walking dead.**


	3. Chapter 3

Beth looked out the window of the truck that her, Rick, Tyreese and Michonne was in. The place they were heading too was around one hour away. The ride was filled with a comfortable silence, so Beth was starting out the window at the outside world, this was the first time she had been out of the prison for a very long time.

After Rick left to talk to his kids, she went to see her father before she left. They had a quick conversation, it was mainly Hershel telling her to be careful and stick with Michonne and do everything she said which Beth had agreed too and was going to do anyway.

Beth was in the back seat with Michonne while Rick drove which left Tyreese in the passengers seat. They had decided that Rick and Tyreese would go get the food while Michonne and Beth would go get the things that Judith needed. Everyone knew it was a risk splitting up but it would be much quicker and that's what they were aiming for.

Beth looked down at the gun on her lap, she wasn't very comfortable having it, even with a still target she only hit around 50% of the time but she knew she needed some protection and she knew she wouldn't be any good with a knife.

Michonne looked at the girl by her side, truth be told she was glad Beth had wanted to do this run. She knew that Beth was finding it hard being in the prison all the time but she could also see how nervous the girl looked as well "its a simple in and out, we will be fine" said said quietly so only Beth could hear her. Beth was brought out of her thoughts and smiled at Michonne knowing she had to be confident about this otherwise who knows what would happen.

"We're here" Rick announced as he parked the truck. Beth quickly looked around, they were at what looked like a small shopping centre with a few shops scattered around the small area. There was around twenty or so walkers walking around aimlessly at some distance, she then looked at the other side and saw that everyone else was out of the truck and had taken down a walker each "come on Beth, no time for site seeing" Tyreese joked.

She immediately left the truck with gun in hand and went straight to Michonne's side. "right, just like we planned get in, get the stuff and get out" Rick said as he and Tyreese made their way to the food store leaving the two women. "Ready?" Michonne asked only to receive a nod from Beth, then they starting making their way to their own destination.

The two women made their was over to the store, keeping to the edge of the buildings so nothing could sneak up behind them. As they got closer to the store and walkers, their moans and groans was getting louder and louder which made Beth uneasy but she kept her mind on the task at hand and on Judith who was the one that would benefit the most from a successful run.

A walker made its way over to the pair, dragging its one leg that was broken and hanging off. "I got it" Michonne whispered while pulling out her katana and stabbed the walker through the eye socket letting the body dropped and she swung her sword to get the walker blood off it.

Michonne kept her katana out and ready as the two made it to the store, they entered silently. Beth put her gun into her trouser band and picked up a basket that was by the entrance. They went through the isles picking up anything that was needed and so far they had got a few toys that Judith could chew on, the baby gel that helped teething baby's and some play mats that they could lay Judith down on.

They had covered nearly all the store in dead silence "how we doing?" Michonne asked as she lead the way round a corner "nearly got everything" Beth answered "all we need is some more bottles" she said then she bumped into the back of Michonne who was standing still and looked tense.

Beth looked in the direction that Michonne was staring and she herself froze in complete fear, she was hardly breathing. In front of them, down the last isle was around seven walkers just staring at the shelf's, it was weird behaviour but right now the two women only had one thing in their minds, escape. Normally Michonne would have taken them out but with Beth being with her she couldn't risk it so she moved her hand telling Beth to go back.

Beth was too scared to move. She had seen more walkers than this before sure but every time she had someone with her to wisp her away from the scene or it was from the safety of the prison fence but this was completely different and she was terrified.

Michonne put a hand on Beth's shoulder and shook her slightly which brought her back from her fearful state. She looked at Michonne with a worried expression but Michonne looked the same as always, calm. She made a hand gesture and the pair started to step backwards slowly.

They were about to round the corner when Beth accidentally stepped on a child's toy that let out a noise and as if waking them up, all the walkers started making their way towards the girls, groaning at the prospect of food.

"RUN" Michonne shouted. They took off down an isle that lead to the main entrance and closest exit, Michonne took a glance behind her to see they weren't being followed which she thought was off but she then noticed that the unit of shelves between them and the walkers was shaking and started to fall their way.

"Look out" Michonne said and then quickly dived and pushed Beth out of the way and the 10 feet tall, heavy wooded unit fell down and landed on Michonne's leg, a crack was heard before Michonne screamed in pain.

Beth looked up in shock and horror. Michonne had her leg trapped under an extremely heavy unit, her leg probably broken and the walkers were slowly making their way over the unit towards her and the defenceless Michonne.

/

Rick and Tyreese had a very easy run, only two walkers was in the store they went in and were taken care of easily. They each had a crate full of canned food, they had been very lucky and were feeling on top of the world.

"This should keep us going for awhile" Rick said as they exited the store.

"Yeah, with all this food we might not need to do another run for weeks" Tyreese said smiling as they got to the truck and lifted the cans into the back and that's when they noticed it. Nearly every walker that was in the parking lot was making their way towards the baby store.

Both men's face dropped and turned serious "what's the plan?" Tyreese asked not really sure what to do.

"Something has gone wrong, Michonne can protect Beth and herself but not against that many, we got to get the ones outside to come to us" Rick said looking around then he came up with an idea "Tyreese get in the truck and get back to the prison now" he said. Tyreese immediately grabbed Ricks arm stopping him in his tracks.

"Are you crazy? I'm not leaving any of you" he said glancing at the baby store.

"Listen, we don't know what's gone on in there. But we need to get that food to our group no matter what. so you do that while I go and get those two and get back in one of those cars" Rick said gesturing to some of the cars in the parking lot. Tyreese didn't like it at all but Rick was the leader and he did have a point, the people at the prison needed this food.

Tyreese nodded and got in the truck "you better make it back" he told Rick then drove off. Rick wasted no time and started running towards the baby store.

/

Another gunshot was fired but it missed its target. Beth was standing over Michonne with her gun in her hands, she had shot down four walkers but she was almost out of ammo. She was dealing with the walkers that made the unit fall but she could hear more groans, moans and banging against the window behind her, she quickly glances behind to see many walkers trying to break through the glass.

Michonne was desperately trying to free her leg but the pain was getting too much for her and she was losing her strength. She was amazed at how good Beth was doing, a few minutes ago she was frozen in fear but now she was fighting walkers. Michonne chalked it up to adrenaline but right now she was just hoping she could keep them both alive till Rick or Tyreese came to help.

Beth fired two more shot and both missed their target, she was out of ammo and had no weapons. She quickly bent down and tried lifting the unit of Michonne's leg but even with her strength as well as Michonne's it wouldn't move.

"Beth get out of here" Michonne said accepting that this would be the end of her but it didn't have to be for Beth.

"No, I'm not leaving you" she replied as she kept trying to move the unit. One of the three walkers left grabbed Beth's arm and pulled her. Beth tripped over the unit and had the walker on top of her trying to bite her, Beth was holding it back with her arms but she knew she was going to lose strength eventually, ;I'm going to die' crossed her mind and as she was about to give up, a gunshot was heard and the walker on her collapsed motionless.

Another two shots were heard when Beth pushed the walker off her and got up to see Rick "Rick" she said shocked but relieved.

"Come on, we got to get Michonne free" he said as they set to work on freeing Michonne. They managed to get her free but her leg was in a bad way and she couldn't stand so Rick put her arm over his shoulder to support her. Michonne looked over at the front door to see all the walkers still trying to get in, she turned to look at Rick "how did you get in?" she asked curiously.

"Back door" he replied as he led the way to the back door with Beth closely following behind.

They made it out and started heading down the ally way when they came to the edge of the parking lot where they had to cross to get to a car. "we're going for that car over there" Rick said as he pointed at a red car that looked to be in the best shape of all the cars available.

As they were about to make their move a walker came behind them and was about to grab Beth when it suddenly fell to the floor startling the small group, They turned around to see an arrow in the walkers skull then a voice was heard "ya guys are getting sloppy".

They looked to the left and saw him, they were all shocked to see him here of all places. Beth stepped forward "Daryl?" she asked in disbelief, almost wondering if she was imagining it.

He nodded "one and only" he replied, happy to see some of the prison group even if it was in a horrible situation. Before anything else could be said they heard the groans of the walkers were getting louder. Rick looked round the corner and saw that the walkers were heading their way.

"They are heading this way" Rick as he helped Michonne move closer to where Daryl and Beth were. Daryl quickly got to the other side of Michonne to support her more and said "come on, follow me I know a place we can go".

 **I in NO way, shape or form own the walking dead.**

 **Would really appreciate some feed back if you are able.**


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl, Michonne, Rick and Beth made it to a place Daryl considered to be safe. It wasn't far away from where the stores were. It was a small two bedroom, one floor house with Daryl's bike parked out front.

Daryl kicked open the door letting them into the house, on route to the house Beth took Daryl's place supporting Michonne so that Daryl could handle the walkers that drifted too close to them.

When they entered Rick and Beth lay Michonne down on the couch in the main room, Michonne had passed out from the pain on the way to the house.

Her leg was a complete mess, it was bent in a horrible way and was bleeding heavily. "what do we have in this house medical wise?" Rick asked Daryl wasting no time in trying to help Michonne.

"Not much, a few pain killers and some bandages" he answered.

Rick cursed, that wasn't enough to last them as it looked like they were going to have to spend the night in this night. He looked outside the window and could see the darkness of night starting to creep in. Rick was worried, he didn't know what to do in a situation like this. First aid wasn't his thing, sure he had taken a first aid course to get on the force but he never trained for an injury like this.

Beth looked at the two men as she knelt beside Michonne and neither of them looked like they knew what to do. She didn't know what came over her but she started giving orders "we need to get her leg as straight as possible, get me some towels for the bleeding and get the painkillers ready" she said and was surprised when the two men started doing what they were told.

Daryl came back in the room with the painkillers and set them by a bottle of water that was on a small table by the sofa, he noticed that there was towels wrapped around her leg now but didn't see the man that had got them "where's Rick?" he asked Beth who was wrapping the last towel round Michonne's leg.

"He went to do a sweep around the house, make sure no walkers have got to close" she replied not looking at the hunter. Daryl sensed the girl was a little off but he decided not to say anything. It wasn't the time.

"She going to be ok?" he asked chewing at the skin on his thumb.

"I'm not sure, I'm just trying to make sure she survives so we can get her back to my father tomorrow" she answered in a way that gave him a sense that she didn't want to talk. She was glad to see that after all this time Daryl was safe and sound but he had just left the prison without a word to anyone and for that she was still angry at him and right now the anger was winning.

Rick walked back in to the house "It looks to be clear for now but because its dark someone is going to have to take watch" he said as he walked up to them. Without a second thought Daryl nodded and walked outside without another word.

The action took Rick by surprise, he thought Daryl would volunteer but he didn't think he would just walk out without saying a word. He turned to Beth who didn't seem fazed by his actions "what was that about?" he asked. Beth looked at him and just shrugged as she adjusted herself so she sat more comfortably by Michonne and was waiting for her to wake up.

/

Tyreese made it back to the prison and was sat in the common room with Sasha by his side "there's nothing you could have done" she said softly trying to calm her brother down who looked awful.

"bu...but I shouldn't have left them, one of them is a young girl" he said putting his head in his hands.

The doors burst open and a raging Maggie made her way over to the pair "what happened?" she shouted, tears flowing from her eyes.

"I don't know" Tyreese answered honestly "me and Rick exited our store and the place where Beth and Michonne were was crowded with walkers" Maggie's face physically dropped.

"And you just up and left? What kind of man are you?" she screamed at him as her tears continued.

"Maggie" Sasha said getting up and standing between the two "Rick told him to come back with the food and then he left to help Beth and besides Michonne is with her so I'm sure that Beth is safe" Sasha commented trying to calm Maggie down.

"She better be" was all Maggie said then left the room.

/

Daryl sat on the porch attached to the front house, smoking one of his cigarettes letting his mind roam while he kept his eyes on the perimeter. He had his crossbow on his lap ready in case it was needed, he hadn't meant to be rude to Rick earlier but Beth's attitude towards him bothered him and he didn't know why.

He had expected people to be mad at him for leaving but he hadn't expected Beth to be one of the ones to show it. He looked through the window and saw Beth still sat by Michonne talking to Rick, he guessed it was a light conversation cause both were smiling. He found himself staring with a small smirk as he stared at the blonde girl, he quickly realised what he was doing as snapped his attention back to the outside of the house.

The front door opened causing him to glance and see Rick "mind if I join ya?" he asked.

Daryl just shrugged and muttered "free country" as Rick sat by him "you've been out here for awhile, want me to take over?" he asked the red neck hunter.

"Nah I'm all right" Daryl replied not really feeling like talking much but he knew after weeks of not seeing him that Rick had other ideas.

"Is this where you been staying" he asked curiously.

Daryl shook his head no "I was staying in a small cabin a few miles that way" Daryl answered as he pointed down a road.

"I see, what were you doing at that shopping centre then?" Rick asked

"I was on my way back to the prison when I noticed the walkers all riled up and decided to take a look" Daryl answered honestly.

Rick smiled at the fact that his friend was on his way back to the prison "well I'm glad you did, if you hadn't I don't think me, Michonne or Beth would of made it" Rick commented patting Daryl on his shoulder as he stood up.

Daryl grunted not looking up at the man that had just practically thanked him. Daryl still wasn't used to being thanked.

Rick smiled and walked back inside to see that Beth was standing next to the door with her back to the wall. She had been listening to their conversation. She looked surprised to see Rick walk in cause she didn't hear Rick making his way back in, Rick smiled at her expression "you know he is still the same person as when he left, he just needed to deal with some stuff" he told her.

Beth nodded and walked back over to where the unconscious Michonne was and sat down next to her again "I know but he's meant to be part of our group and this is the second time he has left, so he is probably going to do it again" she commented as Rick took a seat near them.

"I know how you feel but he came back the first time and this time he was on his way back as you heard, he had real reasons for leaving you know" Rick told her.

Beth looked up at him confused "you know why he left?" she asked.

Rick nodded "the morning he left I spoke to him and he told me"

"Well why did he leave?" Beth asked. She knew that he wouldn't leave if it wasn't for a good reason but after seeing him and he was acting as if nothing happened she was frustrated with him and she felt if she knew the reason then she would understand.

"I'm sorry Beth but if you want to know that, you will have to ask the man yourself" he told her with a smile.

Beth nodded and looked out the window as the room fell silent.

/

The night had gotten cold as Daryl finished doing another sweep around the house before he ended up back at the porch. Rick and Beth had gone to sleep awhile ago. Rick had tried to demand that half way through the night they swap the night watch but Daryl strongly declined it.

He turned the corner and saw a figure on the porch wrapped in a blanket. Daryl smiled a little bit knowing the darkness would hide it. He walked up onto the porch and took a seat on the other end of the bench "isn't it past your bed time?" he teased.

Beth smirked a little, before he left they had these small conversations often which made it harder when he left "very funny" she said sarcastically as she held out another blanket "I thought you might be cold" she said quietly.

Daryl wasn't cold in the slightest but she was being nicer than earlier so he took it muttering a thanks and wrapped it around himself.

They sat in silence for awhile until Daryl decided to break it "you can go back inside if you want, I got things covered out here" he said.

"I know you do but I want to ask you something if that's ok?" she asked biting her lip slightly. She was confident earlier talking to him but now that she had cooled down and had that talk with Rick she felt ashamed she hadn't thought to hear him out before.

Daryl knew that he would have someone want to ask him questions. He was dreading answering them however as he sat here with Beth he didn't feel as awkward as he thought he would.

"Sure" he muttered glancing at the blonde before looking elsewhere.

"Why did you leave us?" her voice was so soft and filled with emotion. .

"The Governor killed my brother" he stated.

Beth wasn't shocked by this, it was the most logical outcome from the information they had so she waited for him to carry on.

"He turned into a walker and I was the one who put him down" Daryl's voice was heavy with emotion "The hardest thing I had ever had to do" he added.

This time Beth was shocked. She couldn't imagine the pain he must have gone through. "I'm so sorry" she said hoping it would help but she knew it wouldn't.

"Don't be" Daryl said turning to look at her and Beth, who could see fire burning in his eyes "the only one that's going to be sorry is the Governor when I get my hands on him" he was close shaking with rage.

Beth was captured by the passion in his eyes, it was so unlike Daryl to show this much emotion. Even if it was hate and anger it still was still rare, she unconsciously moved a little closer when she asked another question "Did you leave us so you could try to track down the Governor?"

Daryl saw the sympathy and sweetness in her eyes and that calmed down slightly "Nah, I left because I was grieving, wouldn't of been able to be around anyone during that time" he answered honestly.

Beth nodded as he took another look around the house "I only have one more questions" she looked at him as if to ask if it was ok to continue.

Daryl looked back at her and gave her a nod.

"Were you planning on coming back?" she already knew the answer because of what she heard earlier but she felt she needed to confirm it.

"I would be their now if I hadn't had to save your ass" he smirked at the girl who smiled back at him.

Daryl then got up and stretched "go get some sleep you will need some rest to be ready for tomorrow" he said as he still held the blanket around himself.

Beth stood up and suddenly she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Daryl was caught off guard and he wasn't sure what to do so he placed one of his hands on her elbow. Beth mentally smiled as he did this, it was his way of returning her hug she guessed.

"Thank you for showing up when you did" she said as she released him and walked back inside the house.

Daryl watched her go in the house, he was a little surprised that she hugged him and normally he wasn't one for hugs but he had enjoyed the brief contact with Beth and wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

 **I in NO way, shape or form own the walking dead.**


	5. Chapter 5

Daryl was dozing off on the porch, the morning light was just making an appearance and he was happy it was a walker free night. He rubbed his eyes trying to stay awake a little longer when he heard a scream come from inside the house.

He burst through the door to see Michonne sat up on the couch with a pained expression on her face "what the hell you trying to do women?" he asked as he walked towards her.

She grunted and looked away from him "I was trying to reach the pain killers" she muttered just enough for him to hear her.

Daryl sighed, he knew exactly how Michonne was feeling. It was like the time when he got injured while looking for Sophia. Him and Michonne were people that liked to be active so being injured and stuck in one place was so frustrating for people like them.

He picked up the painkillers from the table and handed them to her "you need water with them?" he asked.

Michonne shook her head and took the tablets as they were "thanks" she muttered as she adjusted herself so she was laying down again "you back for good this time or you going to take off again?" she asked looking at him.

Daryl couldn't believe it, even Michonne was asking him questions but he felt that him and Michonne had a strange bond because they are so alike. "Nah, im coming back with you three and staying put" he said with a small smile "miss me that much did ya?" he asked with a smirk.

Michonne smirked back "made no difference to me, but a lot of the people at the prison really misses you. Some more than others" she answered as she glanced towards Beth's door.

Daryl didn't really take notice of it though, he thought she was just checking her surrounding. A rare miss from Daryl. Before anything else could be said Rick came out of his room "Michonne your up, how are you feeling" he asked.

"Like hell" she answered honestly as she looked at her leg covered in towels and she smirked again "nice patch work" she commented.

"That was Beth's doing" Rick answered as he looked at Daryl "were not exactly doctor material" he smiled remembering how bad he acted, he was glad Beth came along in the end.

"Where is Beth anyway?" Michonne asked curiously. Like Daryl, Michonne liked to know where people were and liked to know they were safe.

"Must still be in her room" Rick answered. He then got up and headed for her room to wake her but was stopped when Daryl grabbed his arm "let her sleep" he said as he let go of Rick's arm.

Rick walked back over to the two "yeah I guess she deserves it, this is her first run after all. Anyway we need a plan for today, we need to get back to the prison today otherwise Michonne's leg will likely get worse and the others might try to send out a search party" he said as he looked at Michonne and Daryl for suggestions.

"We need to get a car or truck first" Daryl said "and for some reason there are none around here, the closest ones are the ones at that car park by the stores" he informed the two.

"Right, well when we were there last time I saw this one red car that looked to be in good shape" Rick informed them as they tried to think of a strategy.

"Well we all know that Michonne ain't going no where on foot" Daryl stated looking at the woman, Michonne didn't look too happy about the statement but had no way of arguing against it "and based on the number of walkers at the parking lot I don't think Beth should go either" he said.

"I agree with you" Rick said "but we cant just leave Michonne and Beth here alone, no offence to Beth but if walkers get in, I don't think they will survive" Rick finished his eyes was on Beth's door hoping she hadn't heard him. The last thing she needed was a dent in her confidence.

"Beth did do a good job defending me at the store but I think your right" Michonne said agreeing with the leader.

"Well seeing as one of us has to go alone" Daryl said walking towards the door "i will be back soon" he said and was about to leave but Rick stopped him.

"Hang on, you have been up for over 24 hours, I think it would be better if I went" Rick said trying to reason with his friend.

Daryl however stared at him "Rick you have two kids waiting for you at the prison and if you leave and don't come back I wouldn't be able to live with myself" as he said this he could see Rick's eyes soften and Daryl knew he had just won "and besides we all know im a better fighter and survivor than you" he teased his friend while smirking.

Rick smiled back "just make sure you come back, don't want to lose you again" he said and some part of Daryl knew that he was saying that on behalf of all the prison but for some reason when Rick said those words all Daryl could think of was Beth.

Daryl smiled at the thought of her and was tempted to go see her before he went for some reason but he merely nodded and left the house.

/

Glenn woke up to find himself alone in bed "Maggie?" he asked out loud. He heard nothing for a minute but then her voice saying "im outside" calmed him instantly.

He got up, got dressed and walked onto the outside of the watch tower where him and Maggie spent the night. He wrapped his arms around Maggie "any sign of them?" he asked. It was obvious that the reason she was up early and outside was because she was worried for her sister.

Maggie shook her head, she looked absolutely miserable but because of the circumstances no one could blame her. Hershel wasn't acting like himself either, during dinner that night he hadn't muttered a single word. He just ate in silence then left for his room the second he was done. It was was a concern for everyone but the biggest worry was that they still hadn't come back.

Just then a voice called up to them "hey you two were having an emergency meeting now" Glenn looked down to see that it was Carol who hadn't waited to hear a reply she was already leaving.

Glenn turned and kissed Maggie on the cheek "come on" he said as he made his way down from the tower. Maggie looked out at the road that lead away from the prison for a second before sighing and also leaving the watch tower.

Maggie walked into the common room to see that everyone was already gathered. She took a seat next to her father and all eyes looked to the centre of the room where Carol was standing.

"I know that everyone is preoccupied with the situation but we need to come up with a sensible plan" she said as she looked around the room.

"It's obvious what we do, my dad is out there and were going to go out and get him" Carl said trying not to talk too loud so he didn't scare Judith who was in his arms.

"Not to mention my little sister is out there" Maggie said siding with Carl on the matter.

"I understand how you two feel but think about who is out there" Carol paused trying to think of the right words "Rick and Michonne some of our best fighters, they can take care of themselves and take care of Beth at the same time" she finished.

"So we just do nothing?" Maggie said getting slightly angry. Hershel put an arm around his daughter.

"I didn't say that, all im saying is that Rick and Michonne are capable so I think we should give it till tomorrow and then go out and look" Carol said.

"I am not waiting till tomorrow" Maggie said now ready to lose it.

Everyone could fell the tension until someone came to the aid of Carol "Carol is right, if we aimlessly go out there then we got no one to protect the prison in case something happens" said Sasha.

All eyes turned to her and she could see the anger in Maggie's and Carl's eyes but chose to ignore it, she knew what she said was true but she just hoped everyone else would see it that way too.

/

Beth stirred in her bed, surprisingly the bed was a proper bed with clean sheets and pillows, it felt just like she was at home again but she had been awake for awhile and decided to get up. She got out of bed and put on her jeans and top and stepped outside.

"Morning" she said as she walked into the room.

"You nearly missed the morning" Michonne said from the couch with a smile.

Beth suddenly remembered the events from yesterday and rushed over to Michonne's side "Michonne your up" she said giving her a look over to make sure she wasn't in any discomfort "how are you feeling?" she asked.

Michonne gave a small smile at Beth's worried face "im fine Beth, my legs hurts a little but Daryl gave me the painkillers this morning so that helped" she said to calm Beth slightly.

Beth sighed in relief "well where is Rick and Daryl? We need to get a plan together" she said with some hope in her voice that had been missing the last few weeks.

She saw Michonne's face drop slightly and that when she herself started feeling worried "what is it?" Beth asked panicking slightly, it was rare to see Michonne change a mood that quick.

"We already came up with a plan and its in action as we speak" she informed the blonde with a blank expression.

Strangely Beth looked a little more relaxed hearing that "oh, so what's the plan?" she asked.

"Because of my leg, we decided that we should get a car from the car park from the store and get back to the prison with that" Michonne explained.

"Oh, so is that where the two guys are now?" she asked nervously.

"Beth, Rick is outside taking care of some walkers that got too close to the house but Daryl went to get the car by himself" Michonne said calmly.

Beth suddenly had a look of horror and worry on her face "wh... why would he go alone?" she muttered as her expression changed to just plain upset.

"He wanted someone here to look after us and you know what he is like when he gets something in his head" Michonne said as she put a hand on Beth's shoulder. Michonne wasn't a stupid person, she had seen how Beth's behaviour changed when Daryl left and seeing how happy she was this morning gave it away. She knew Beth cares for the red neck.

"Bu...But I could of gone with him, im not injured and I could of helped" Beth said as if pleading for Daryl to come back and get her.

"He said that he didn't want you in danger with the amount of walkers" Michonne said, once again offering comfort to the girl.

Beth felt a tear roll down her face, she instantly rubbed it away "this is so stupid, why am I crying?" she asked in a happier voice hoping to fight off the sadness but she didn't fully know why tears were coming out.

Michonne wasn't sure what to do but she felt she had to do something "is it because your scared that he wont come back again?"

Beth nodded her head not looking at Michonne because she was embarrassed of letting a tear escape.

Michonne moved her hand under Beth's chin and made Beth look at her "he will be fine, he is one tough SOB" she said with a smile which Beth replied with her own smile and nodded.

Beth then got stood up "right, I better go check if Rick needs anything" she said and left the room. She got outside and saw that Rick wasn't in sight so she sat down on the porch where her and Daryl sat last night "please make it back safe Daryl" she said quietly before heading off to find Rick.

 **I in NO way shape or form own the walking dead.**


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl poked his head around the corner of an alleyway and could see the stores come into view, he scanned the area and saw that there was not as many walkers as last time but there was still too many to just charge at them.

He then saw the red car that Rick had mentioned and had to agree that it did look to be in good shape. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to get to the car with attracting too much attention. As he looked around he realised that he didn't have much to work with and all he had on him was his trusty crossbow and a knife on his belt.

If he had to guess he would say that there was around 20 walkers but another problem was that he didn't know if any more was hidden away in any stores.

He sighed and pulled out a cigarette and lit it as he once again looked at his surroundings. "why cant there be anything useful around?" he muttered to himself as he took a deep breath inhaling the smoke that calmed him.

Another few minutes and he was done with his cigarette but was no closer to a solution so he decided to do what all Dixon men did and just wing it.

He moved out of the alleyway and ran across the road so he was leaning against the wall of the baby store, he edged closer to the edge to see if he had a straight run to the car but didn't have such luck, he had at least 4 walkers in his way.

Just then an idea struck him, he loaded up his crossbow and aimed it for a window on the other side of the car park "now or never" he said and then fired his arrow and it hit its target. The arrow smashed through a window causing the attention of every walker and they started making their way towards it.

When enough walkers was far enough from the car Daryl made a break for it, he shoved his way passed one walker making the walker fall to the floor. He was getting closer to the car when two walkers made their way towards Daryl "shit" he said then lifted his crossbow and shot the first one in the skull and it fell down.

In one swift movement, without changing speed Daryl swung his crossbow so it was on his back and he pulled out his knife. He plunged the knife through the eye with so much momentum that he went down with the walker but quickly recovered and carried on running not even caring about the arrow he had left behind.

He reached the car and tried to open it but it was locked "are you fucking kidding me" he said in a low voice, he quickly looked around and saw that some walkers were making their way towards him. No longer worrying about making too much noise he punched through the window of the car, cutting his hand numerous times causing blood to pour which really got the walkers more riled up.

He unlocked it from the inside and got in slamming the door behind him and then got to work on hot whirring it. He was on his back fiddling with the wires a number of walkers had their arms through the window trying to get him. The blood from his hand was slightly giving him trouble with the wires but in no time the engine roared.

Daryl sat in the drivers seat checking that everything looked fine and he was thankful to see that it nearly had a full tank of gas. He put the car into reverse and wasted no time getting out of the car park and began making is way back to the house.

While driving he looked at his hand that was still bleeding and from the looks of it he had a few bits of glass in there as well, he knew he would have to get it treated which annoyed him because he knew that one person would worry even though it was nothing.

/

It had been a long time since Daryl had left and Rick hated to admit it but he was getting worried, he knew that Daryl could handle himself but he was the leader and had aloud him to go into a dangerous situation alone.

He was standing on the porch on look out because earlier in the morning one or two walkers got too close and had to be dealt with so he was making sure nothing got out of hand.

The door opened behind him, he turned to see Beth "how is she?" he asked.

Beth walked up so she was besides Rick and both were keeping an eye out for walkers "she just had to take another set of painkillers" she told him in a slightly saddened tone.

Rick nodded, he had just heard her shout in pain again not so long ago "how many do we have left?" he asked her not really sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Only one" she spoke with downcast eyes. Up until now she had taken two at a time and that was only helping a little but without anything to help her they could only imagine the pain she was in.

"We need to get her back to the prison" he said in a determined voice but then realised that it wasn't up to him, it all counted on Daryl. Beth looked at him a guessed what he was thinking.

"He will do it you know, Daryl will get that car and come back here without any problems" she told him and to reassure him but the truth was she needed reassuring herself. Rick smiled at the girl and nodded "I know he will" he replied.

Beth knew she should of left it at that but she couldn't help herself "how come Daryl went alone? Michonne told me about how he wanted you here to look after us and didn't want any of us in danger but your the leader you could of done something" her voice was soft but strangely assertive at the same time.

Rick looked at the girl and his eyes softened "you know what Daryl is like he is always thinking of others no matter how he acts or what he says, he is one of those people and in all honesty I don't think I could of done anything to change his mind" he said trying to answer the girls question.

Beth then looked up at him "but I could of..." she started but Rick held up a hand to silence her "listen Beth the reason why Daryl went alone is because he cares about us. But he seemed to be dead set on not letting you go more than anyone" he said smiling at the girl. Beth looked a little surprised at what Rick had just told her.

"Any way we all know he will be fine so lets stop worrying and make sure were all here when he gets back" he said again and could tell from the look in Beth's eyes that she was more determined in her eyes and a bit of happiness.

/

Maggie was inside her fathers cell while the old man was sat on his bed "i don't like this, we need to be out there looking for her" Maggie said as she paced back and forth.

Hershel looked at his daughter, he was over the shock of his youngest daughter didn't come back from run and was now feeling a mixture of emotions "i know how you feel Maggie but even you got to admit if we go out there we have no idea where they would have gone" he said but what he said didn't please his daughter.

"So we just sit here and do nothing?" she asked throwing her hands in the air in anger and frustration.

"You know that's not what I mean but we should give Rick and Michonne time, they are more than capable of coming back here with all three of them safe and sound and we got to keep believing that's the truth" he said and that's when Maggie saw it, her father was on the verge of breaking down and only hope was keeping him together right now.

Maggie's anger seemed to leave her at realising how her father felt, she sat down next to him and hugged him silently which he returned. All they could do now was comfort each other and hope.

/

Daryl pulled up outside the house that everyone else was in, he turned off the car and made his way towards the house. He didn't bother knocking and just entered to see only Michonne was in the room "hey" he muttered.

"Hey, you took longer than I expected" Michonne said honestly, Daryl noticed that two more painkillers was gone and only had one left which didn't fill him with confidence.

Daryl however smiled at her words "Wasn't all straight forward but im fine" he said hiding his hand from sight "where's Rick and Beth?" he asked.

"Doing a sweep of the house, to be honest I have barley seen them" she answered.

"Right, well I got the car, when they get back tell them to get ready to leave" he said as he picked up a bottle of water and made his way to the bathroom but before he made it in Michonne's voice stopped him "she was really worried about you, next time talk to her before you go".

Daryl didn't say anything he just grunted and walked in the bathroom locking it from the inside, for a moment her forgot the pain in his hand as he thought of Beth "why was worried about me?" he said quietly to himself but then he was also shocked that Michonne had told him that, it wasn't like her to get involved in personal matters. Although he wouldn't admit it, he did feel bad for making Beth worry, he would have to talk to her when they got back to the prison.

He walked up to the sink and poured water over his bloody hand to clean it as best he could at the moment, he let out a hiss the water made contact with his hand. The bleeding had stopped sometime when he was driving and now that he cleaned off the dry blood he could look at his hand properly. He was not expert but there didn't seem to be too much glass in his hand but it wouldn't be anything that anyone could get out by hand so he had no choice but to deal with the pain until they got back to the prison.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and left to the bathroom to see that everyone was gathered in the room, Michonne was already leaning on Rick clearly ready to leave. Beth was slightly closer to him with a big smile on her face. He looked at her and smirked as he made his way over to them "everything go ok?" Rick asked as they all headed towards the door.

"Im fine, just a complication or two was all" Daryl said as they left the house. Once they were out of the house Daryl was supporting Michonne after seeing no walkers were near by, Beth ran to the car outside the house and opened one of the back seats so the boys could put Michonne down. Once Michonne was in the car Rick wasted no time in getting in the drivers seat leaving Beth and Daryl standing by the car.

Beth looked at him "so everything really went ok?" she asked, worry written all over her face and he couldn't help but smirk and nod.

"Yeah everything is fine, now get in the car and I will be right behind you on my bike" he said turning to leave only to be stopped by Beth who grabbed the back of his jacket.

He turned around only to see her looking at the floor "can I help you with something?" he asked not in a mean way but more curiously.

Beth muttered something that he didn't hear "didn't catch that" he said moving his head a little closer.

"I said can I ride with you please" she said louder this time and it wasn't just Daryl that heard it because Michonne was smiling in the car but Rick wasn't paying attention. Daryl was shocked by the question, he knew that she worried about him but why would she want to ride with him? He was at a loss but since she hugged him he had wanted to spend some time with her but he didn't understand why. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad but right now he didn't care so he replied "sure" then she looked up at him and beamed a smile at him.

"Really? Thank you" she said then ran off towards the bike that wasn't too far away.

Daryl smirked his signature smirk and walked up to the car window where Rick was "she's riding with me, we will stay behind you at all times" he informed his leader then walked off.

Rick didn't really mind but he did give a knowing smile as Daryl walked away, "so you see it too?" Michonne asked from the back seat.

"You would have to be blind not to see it" he started looking at Daryl who was telling Beth something about the bike "she has a thing for him all right" he commented.

"Do you think he feels the same?" she asked which Rick thought was weird because Michonne was never chatty but he didn't want to say anything, it was nice her being talkative.

"Im not sure, who can really say they know what Daryl Dixon is like" Rick said with a smirk

"Would you be ok with it if anything happens?" she asked him

"In this world if you can find something or someone to make you happy I say go for it and I would support them cause well she is 18 now and Daryl is my best friend" he said as he saw Daryl get on his bike and Beth got on the back of it, her arms instantly wrapping around Daryl's waste.

"i agree but with the others im not so sure but cross that bridge if we come to it I guess" she said as she saw Daryl making a sign saying he was ready.

Rick knelt down and made the two wires touch which started the car and both vehicles drove from the house.

 **I in NO way shape or form own the walking dead.**


End file.
